WORKING OUT
Remembering his years at Collingswood High School, Michael described himself as “a funny looking pip-squeak who weighed barely 100 pounds.
Things hadn’t changed by the time he went to the University of Southern California. “When I arrived at college, the athletic department didn’t know what to do with me. They put me in a fraternity house. I was a misfit and the other guys treated me like an outcast. I looked like Supermouse, so they could hardly believe this was the javelin thrower they’d offered a scholarship to. So they tried me out, matching me against a big fellow who was 6’5”. I out threw him and got my scholarship. It drove the guy crazy!”
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When Michael tore ligaments in his left arm he was unable to hold onto the athletic scholarship he had won and so he left in the middle of his freshman year. He got a job unloading freight cars, hoping it would help build up his arm again.
While working at any job he could to earn money, in his spare time Michael auditioned for acting jobs. “I was really skinny in those days. I wore a blue sweatshirt under my regular shirt to make myself look bigger.”
In 1960, Dan Blocker talked about Michael’s ability to eat whatever he wanted without putting on any weight. “That little guy is half my size and eats twice as much as I do. It ain’t fair.” Dan said that Michael’s usual lunch on the set was: All the bread and butter on the table, a generous portion of meat, potatoes and vegetables, pie a la mode, and always a chocolate soda. “Then when he’s finished he starts all over again, ordering a complete second luncheon identical to the first. I don’t know where he puts it. I gain weight just looking at food.”
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By the mid 1960s Michael had been working out and weighed around 160 pounds. There was a gym on the NBC lot where he worked out during the lunch hour. (Michael also enjoyed a naked daily sauna in the small sauna bath near the Bonanza set).
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“For usual days at the studio, I have to get up at 6A.M. I never eat breakfast, so there’s no sense in waking Lynn. The house is all asleep as I fix a thermos of hot coffee to take along. At noon I generally work out in the gym on the lot. By dinnertime, I’m ready to eat a huge meal.” Michael Landon, Feb 1967.
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In May, 1967 Michael said, “I’m convinced health is a must for happiness. I don’t swim a specific number of laps in the pool at home because that would be boring. I’m active with the kids because I like to throw a ball and run and jump. At home we play volleyball as well as tennis now. I’m stiff today because yesterday I tried to put into practice what I’d learned from a tennis lesson. I was on court from 1:30 to 5:15 pm – first with four fellows who came over, and then Lynn and I teamed for doubles with one of the men and his wife. Every day I’m at the studio I work out in its gym. When using weights puts on too much up top, I realize I’ll outgrow my suits, so I punch a bag instead. I finish with a steam and massage.”
From an article in July, 1967. Eight years before, his abiding concern was an undernourished physique. During Bonanza’s initial season, Landon weighed a puny 132 pounds. He wore a heavy sweatshirt beneath his costume of twill and corduroy so as to appear more formidable around the chest and shoulders. Workouts involving push-ups, chin-ups, punching bags and lifting weights built him up so he could discard the padding. Today Landon weighs in at a muscular 148 pounds.
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From an article in Muscle Mag, 1976. Michael Landon is very fitness conscious. He trains in his own home gym with a variety of exercise equipment, often joined by his lovely wife Lynn, who herself is in exceptional physical shape. Seeing them working out together gives one a feeling that here indeed is the ideal couple. Known early on in his career for his baby-face Landon was able to play a teenager when well past thirty. Now at 39 years of age he is reaping the benefits of that younger than young face. He looks terrific both facially and physically, due in part, no doubt, to his obedience to basic health laws. “Shutting your eyes to comparative food values,” says Michael “is like robbing yourself!” While he is no food faddist he does make a habit of eating good wholesome, natural foods. And for the sake of his teeth and his body he avoids ‘empty calories’ that do nothing positive for his physical well-being. In like-manner, he sees to it that his children are brought up on good basic principles of health and nutrition. At no time in their childhood were they allowed to eat loads of candies, gooey desserts ect. This foresight on his and Lynn’s behalf has assured that at least his children got a good start to a healthy and happy life. The Mike Landon training schedule has to be squeezed in between his busy routine and professional obligations, but he does find time to average at least 3 workouts a week. He trains fast and furious, never doing exactly the same two workouts in a row. He finds that variety and movements keeps training boredom and staleness at bay. Whereas he doesn’t have the enormous strength of say, a specialist bodybuilder, he is by no means weak. He trains using maximum intensity and concentration for each exercise. Besides he did a little party trick for our photographer which many of today’s pro’s would not be able to duplicate. The parallel floor planche on fingertips…try it!
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In an article in 1983 when Michael was 47, he talked about his feelings on what it would be like to turn 50 and his diet and exercise plan. “Taking care of yourself is the most important thing you can spend time doing. I feel great. I sleep like a log and I haven’t been sick in years – not even a cold! And it’s all because I take care of myself with exercise and a diet that works for me. As I approach the big ‘50’, I welcome it. I’m not worried about nearing the half-century mark because I am happier, healthier and somewhat wiser now.” Landon’s secret diet is one of Hollywood’s strangest. He himself admits, “There’s no one around who likes to eat more than I do.” Landon said before he starts each day he has a very small breakfast – cranberry juice with a powered whole grain supplement, along with a piece of dry toast. And he seldom eats lunch because he’s so busy. “Dinner is the one meal of the day I look forward to. My evening meal is more like something three people would eat! I’m pretty sure it adds up to around 3,500 calories. I start off with a couple of bowls of soup which are chock full of fresh vegetables and lots of little bits of pasta. Next comes a large mixing-bowl-size salad. Again, it has lots of vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, onions, green peppers covered with mounds of shrimp and creamy Italian dressing. Next comes the main course. My wife Cindy makes a great spicy shrimp and fabulous chicken cacciatore. She also makes broiled sea bass and halibut that is out of this world. I love chicken tetrazzini with lots of Italian bread and steamed vegetables. And my favourite is a heaping platter filled with different types of pasta prepared with different vegetables. For dessert, I have a honeydew or cantaloupe cut in half and filled with a large scoop of ice cream. And we also have a platter filled with cheeses, apples, oranges and grapes.” With a mammoth diet like that, you’d think Landon would have had trouble fitting into his ‘Little House’ long ago – but he says constant exercise helps him burn off whatever he eats. “I’ve always exercised. I work out in the morning every day.” Landon’s gruelling exercise program takes 1½ to 2 hours a day. At a gym, he lifts dumbbells and barbells, works out on Nautilus exercise machines, mans a rowing machine and does aerobic exercises.
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From an article in 1987. He says that, although he’s hit 50, he feels in good shape. He scrupulously monitors his health because he maintains such a rigorous schedule. “I feel fit, although I don’t jump as high as I used to – or as often,” he points out.
“Even though I’m 53, I see no reason not to be in top condition. I guess it takes a combination of diet, not overeating, exercise and an awareness of health and fitness. In general I don’t eat a lot. I’m also not a snacker. I don’t eat junk food, and I’m not a sweets eater. One thing I believe in is missing a meal here and there. I rarely eat lunch. My wife Cindy, is extremely health-conscious, and she’s gotten me away from the heavier meat diet I used to eat. I still love meat – but she’s really gotten me more into seafood and chicken. And I’m very big on pasta. For exercise, I’m at the gym every morning around 9 when I’m not working, and I work out both on the resistance machines and with weights for approximately two hours.” Michael, October 1989.
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Michael liked to cook and when the ranch house kitchen was designed, it included indoor and outdoor cooking facilities similar to those in restaurants to accommodate the large family when they all visited.
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In 1991, Michael dropped from 163 pounds to 150 before finally going to see a doctor who diagnosed cancer. At the press conference in April, Michael said, “At first you just don’t believe it, especially if you are a physical kind of guy, so what I did right after I heard there was a possibility, was I began doing push-ups, just to make sure I was just as strong as I was the day before. And I was, so I figured I could beat it.” At this point in the press conference, at the urging of the press, Michael did some push-ups. Even after the diagnosis, he continued to work out. In an article in June his publicist, Harry Flynn said, “He still has a lot of energy. He was playing some tennis until a few days ago, when he decided he should conserve his energy.” To try and combat the illness, Michael started to eat an organic, highly vegetarian diet.
In the LIFE issue of June 1991, Michael talked about how he felt when he was told he had cancer. “Well, the news shocked the hell out of me. Nothing was further from my mind, since I’m only 54 and, with rare exceptions, I’d been healthy my whole life. Not that I don’t deserve to have a cancer. I’m a good athlete, and I work out hard – before this happened I could bench press 300, 350 pounds, no sweat – but I’ve abused my body over the years. I don’t want people to think that everybody is a likely candidate for cancer of this type. I think I have it because for most of my life, though I was never a drunk, I drank too much. I also smoked too many cigarettes and ate a lot of the wrong things. And if you do that, even if you think you’re too strong to get anything, somehow you’re going to pay.” And he talked about his diet. “I’m on a radical diet. Worked out with the help of my wife, who’s a health nut and knows a lot about nutrition. No animal fat or protein. I get everything I need from fruits and vegetables. My wife makes a wonderful hearty soup, and every day, 13 times a day, I chop up a few organic apples and a bunch of organic carrots along with maybe some beet tops and dump them in a blender. Makes a 12-ounce glass of juice, and I drink it right down. The pectin in the apples helps digestion, and the carotene in the carrots is thought to kill cancer cells. Damn carrots are turning me orange. And every time I eat or drink, I swallow digestive enzymes to replace what the pancreas has stopped producing. And then, once a day, I take a tried and true remedy for intestinal irritation – a coffee enema. Yep, I get filled to the rim. Organic coffee, I might add.”
